Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

A couple of weeks ago - Reimagine your Church asked for ideas

Some good suggestions some other interesting ones.

We wanted to get more ideas on how to reach our community.

But at times it can be difficult to see past what we are familiar with.

It’s like, when you go over someone’s house and their is a weird smell.

They are used to it but your notice it right away.

And the same thing goes with your house.

So it is good to get someone else’s perspective

In the process though we needed to clarify that we aren’t looking for ways to make you happier with the church we aren’t looking for ideas on how to add things that you like.

We want all of us to think outside of ourselves.

To consider others and what would help them connect to the Gospel.

Pastor put it this way “We will always be about reaching lost people not about making found people happy”

That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t meet your needs but it does mean that if push comes to shove and we need have to make a decision between what will lead someone into a relationship with Jesus or do something that we like we will choose what will reach someone who is lost.

We should always be looking at ways to tear down obstacles that keep people from following Jesus.

We can never and will never compromise the Gospel, we will never compromise the message that we are separated from God because of our selfish nature that causes us to try to be our own God and determine what is right and wrong for ourselves that is what we call sin and we will always stand in opposition to that.

However since the Gospel is provocative enough we must let Jesus be the stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the gentiles and not our own traditions and preferences.

Pastor reminded us last week of a story in Mark Chapter 2, I want us to be reminded of that once again.

Matthew 9

That is the church that we want to be.

Mark 2:15-17

That is the church that we want to be.

We want to reach people that know one is reaching.

We want to love people that no one is loving.

We aren’t here as an organization to

We want to reach people that know one is reaching.

We want to love people that no one is loving.

We aren’t here as an organization to make well people feel good about their wellness we are here to reach out to the sick and help them get well.

That is what Jesus was about and that is what we are about.

Pastor’s point last week was that lost people, hurting people, people without hope are incredibly important to God and so they are incredibly important to us.

And we should be willing to do whatever we can short of sin to reach them with the Gospel.

We have to have compassion on them, we have to care.

They can’t be a target, they can’t be just another person to increase our attendance and offerings.

We are called to genuinely love and care about them.

We have to care about them more than we care about ourselves.

We have the greatest message of hope that the world has ever heard, it can heal sicknesses, it can set the people free from bitterness, depression, hopelessness and addictions.

It can give people joy and hope when they are going through devastating circumstances.

It can raise those who are dead back to life.

And it exists within each one of us, it is a part of our story, it changed the trajectory of our lives.

And we have each been given a command to share that story, that hope with those that are around us.

It was interesting to read some of the ideas that were sent in and many of them were great and if nothing else it caused each one of us to think beyond ourselves and think about how we can reach others.

However as we think about re-imagining the church we cannot forget that we aren’t necessarily looking to re-imagine the church calendar because we must also look at how we should re-imagine ourselves.

Because we are the church.

Collectively, each one of us should re-imagine our role in this process.

It is easy to re-imagine what others can do, what the church can do, what the pastors can do, but in this process are we looking at ourselves and re-imagining what we else we can do to reach people for Jesus.

How do we do this?

Called Into the World (not just bring the people to the church but bring the church to the people)

Are each one of us willing to do anything short of sin to reach people no one else has reached.

We are called to not watch the world go by.

We are not called to simply be consumers of Christians goods and services coming to church to a dose of church, we are called to be co-laborers with Christ on God’s mission of reconciliation.

We are called to join with Christ in showing the world God’s love and grace and how they can have a close personal relationship with the God who created them and loves them.

We see this in Matthew Chapter 28 which recounts the moment when Christ tells us what He wants us to do.

After he suffered and died for us after He proved He was the son of God by rising from the dead He tells us that all authority in heaven and on earth was given to him SO go into all the world and make disciples.

It is a command.

Each one of us is called into the world to bring people along on this journey of freedom, this incredible abundant life.

It isn’t just about bringing them to church although that is a huge part of it, we are also called to bring the church to them.

We want to see transformation.

This isn’t about attendance of offerings, this isn’t about feeling the excitement of a lot of people here, this is about transformation.

We want nothing less than transformation.

He tells us to go into all the world and make disciples.

It is a command.

Each one of us is called into the world to bring people along on this journey of freedom, this incredible abundant life.

We want to see lives changed, transformed.

If you are here today and your just checking this christianity thing out, I want you to know there is a God that loves you desperately and is going to incredible lengths to reach out to you even when you don’t acknowledge his existence or want his love.

And he wants to change your life.

He wants you to truly live again.

To not be defined by your mistakes, or what others say about you, He wants to define you by how much he was willing to do to set you free to give you hope, to give you purpose.

Because He loves you that much and that is the message that each one of us is carrying in our hearts and in our lives.

Not to sit in a church and call it christianity but to invade the chaos of this world with the greatest hope the world has ever seen.

Jesus says this about what He wants for us this is his prayer.

John 17:15

We are called to live our lives in Christ out in the world.

Now some of us might say, well that is easy for you to say, you are a pastor- it is easy for you to do that, but I am not called like you are, I can’t do all of that, here take my tithe and you do it.

It doesn’t work that way.

We can each find excuses why we can’t do what God has commanded each one of us to do.

Even some of our heroes of the faith did that.

Moses did it as well.

Look at what happened

7 Then the LORD told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt.

I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers.

Yes, I am aware of their suffering.

8 So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land

7 Then the LORD told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt.

I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers.

Yes, I am aware of their suffering.

8 So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land.

It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live.

9 Look!

The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them.

10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh.

You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”

It has been God’s MO to use his people to bring his hope to those that are hurting.

So Moses is talking to God at this moment and God is telling him that He will deliver an entire nation from slavery through Moses but Moses continually tells God I can’t I can’t I can’t

And God says you can you can you can because I can and I will.

This goes on back and forth until Moses protests again:

But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me?

What if they say, ‘The LORD never appeared to you’?”

2 Then the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?”

“A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied.

3 “Throw it down on the ground,” the LORD told him.